Got to admit this is a bit of a pipedream really, but its a pipedream thats not really gone away in four years.
I've got a decent office job, but seeing how depressingly keen my co-workers are to stay in late and 'improve' themselves while I'm away farting about in the hills makes me wonder if its really the job for me.
As it happens I now walk past a retained fire station every day and am thinking I might pop my head in and ask about recruitment, just to see whats involved.
If I say so myself, I'm fit, but not whippet XC racer fit, and not a natural 'sprinter' (I hear there's a bleep test involved). I've also seen pictures of guys doing headstand push-ups which looks a bit daunting.
Would I be competing with scores of 18 year olds who can all do a million pull-ups before breakfast?
You are easily fit enough.
You need to work within a certain distance to the station, and also a lot of fire services are geting rid of staff.
Oh and theres a bit more to the fire service than running round.
Could always pop your head in there and ask.
Go straight in there and ask them, straight. What you got to lose?
The fitness tests are the easy bit - it's the psychometric tests that are harder.
You can normally get into retained pretty easily but harder to get wholetime not many brigades , if any, are recruiting. We aren't for five years.
Fitness wise its not hard more technique than owt else with the tests. Nip into station I'm sure they will see you right mate
Most of the ones that got knocked back on my course were due to not good with heights or confined spaces , being down a sewer with full kit on isn't the place you want to panic lol
I'm sure Firestarter will be along in a bit.
Edit.
as if by magic he appears.
Project 'work within a certain distance to the station'? You mean live within a certain distance?
I fully appreciate there's more to it than running around, but in terms of the application process there seems to be a lot of emphasis on the fitness aspects. I was hoping a degree in mech eng. and some experience working in fire engineering might stand me in good stead.
Realman, I'm planning to, whenever I pass I'm usually in head down get to work/get home mode on the bike..
Edit: Cheers firestarter, I'd misunderstood 'retained', I thought that meant, well, retained, as in kept. Retained is volunteer right?
Lol stu I didn't realise you were a magician I thought you just rode magical bikes 😉
the retained entrance test is normally a finger digit count, if you have less than 10 then you're in. 😉
Work or live wthin a certain distance of a fire station so youre on call and able to respond.
Bit pointless if you live down the street but work100 miles away, as fires happen abnytuiime not just when youre at home and able to respond .
Oh and seems a very worthwhile job,career, sadly the management dont think the same as theyre the ones cutting budgets and staff.
Best wishes
i was thinking along the same lines last year and started prepping for the application process, then they stopped all recruitment drives with the word on the street being it was going to be a few years until they start up again. not wanting to be negative mate, just to let you know.
there's a good fire service forum with loads of fire fighters on http://www.fireservice.co.uk/forum/index.php
14 posts in and no questions about second jobs or striking.
This forum is going to the dogs.....pfft!
Yep as stated previously there are recruitment freezes in places all over as budget cuts kick in. However(in my brigade area anyway)They're always looking for retained staff though, and getting in there, learning the job until such a time they start recruiting will always stand an applicant in good stead...
If you're fit enough then your second job could be a gym instructor or similar 😉
Retained isn't volunteer per se. They are paid to attend training nights, for each incident they attend, then for the hours worked at actual incidents. But they have to commit to a hell of a lot of time to be on call to serve their community that most folk really couldn't comprehend nevermind honour...
Mate applied a few years ago was doing well until it got to the BA's and confined spaces and he suffered a panic attack, they gave him another go in case it was just nerves and the same happened again. He and the trainers agreed being a fireman was not the path for him.
He found the fitness part pretty easy and he wasn't imo and even his the fittest person around and he didn't even know he would suffer in confined spaces till he was put in that situation.
Retained isn't volunteer per se. They are paid to attend training nights, for each incident they attend, then for the hours worked at actual incidents. But they have to commit to a hell of a lot of time to be on call to serve their community that most folk really couldn't comprehend nevermind honour...
Retained isn't volunteer per se. They are paid to attend training nights, for each incident they attend, then for the hours worked at actual incidents. But they have to commit to a hell of a lot of time to be on call to [s]serve their community[/s]get the monthly pay packet that most folk really couldn't comprehend nevermind honour...
Until I'm gifted a Commision to fly the Eurofighter, The FS is a brilliant career which i've loved.
Knock on the door of the retained station and get some contact details, talk to them and you may well find that they require cover during office hours if you work close enough.
As for fitness, you will piss it, the bleep test is easy. it stopped before i was actually running, just jogging and i'm a knacker!!!
The fitness tests have been made easier in the last 10 years to try to recruit individuals who have not traditionally applied/passed the previous phys.
Good Luck, Hope it works out.
my dad was a retained fireman for 37 years. i don't think he did it for the money. i tried to get into the notts full time fire service and passed all the written tests etc, but failed the fitness test miserably. at the time though my idea of exercise was nipping to the spa shop to get some more fags...
You need to be fit enough to pose in fake tan and baby oil for calendars, otherwise you won't get in.....Also the amount of pool you'll play and tea you'll drink will take its toll on your dominant arm, not to mention the exhausting second job you'll have.
If it is too exhausting and grueling go on strike and the huge groundswell of public opinion supporting your campaign for more pay will..........not happen!
[Will that do GeoffJ?]
before the firefighters throw teddy's from prams, we're only joshing with you.........you do some great work hosing cats from trees and doing sparkler awareness courses.....
okay, okay, I'll stop now before I get burnt at the stake [local fire station]
You may stand more of a chance getting in to retained (or 'On-Call' as they have just recently renamed them) due to the fact that a lot of wholetime stations are being closed or moving to day crewing and manned by retained at night... 🙄
Downside is that depending on the area you may not find it easy to switch to wholetime because some areas find it hard to get retained cover (wealthy areas!) and so they will want the retained to stay just that so they have cover.
As has been said above, most brigades arent recruiting wholetime for a few years but keep an eye on your local service website.
my dad is a fireman, and very fit. His colleagues,.. well they're not. Especially the newbies. He regularly complains that their lazyness and lack of fitness hinder operations and put him at risk. Just something to consider, if you get a full time position
I'm wholetime and retained (10 and 15 years respectively)
I can only speak for my brigade/station however most if not all are heading in the same direction.
A retained FF is indeed quite a commitment but as bruneep alluded to 😉 it is relatively well paid (now.)
As a rule it's personnel that are available during the day that most retained stations are after as many smaller towns have less and less industry now or employers willing to let employees away in normal office hours. It's quite frightening how many pumps will be 'off the run' during the day in some areas.
There's a bit of a transitional phase going on at the mo. The 'old' way is that you'll either be 100% or 75% retained. This relates to the percentage of the retaining fee you get paid. With that you'll have to make either 61% or 51% the total turn outs for the station and 80% of training nights. This is more often than not reviewed on a quarterly basis so have a think and decide whether you'll be able to commit to this.
The 'new' system is where you'll be salaried and have to give 120 hours availability. This is calculated by booking on/off via computer of phone and it's likely to evolve further (as many brigades have already) to a roster system where you'll be 'told' when you will give cover.
Looking at it from a business perspective it makes sense as some of our snr officers see it as poor value or as a part time job where the employees are picking and choosing when they work.
I am at a small, 1 pump retained station which gets about 200 calls per year. Between retainer, call outs and community safety work (school visits, home safety visits etc) it was worth £7.5k to me last year. So not to be sniffed at but bear in mind that there are a lot of people leaving due to the changes and the expectations that are now placed on them and it'll only get worse if/when the roster system comes in. (some of the welsh brigades saw 40% of station personnel leave!)
As for fitness, 9.6 on the Bleep Test is the toughest part so nothing too taxing then there's an HR/PC type interview (gone are the days where you need to know loads about the job...just as long as you don't upset or offend anyone 🙄 )
Staff turnover in the retained is higher than that of the wholetime so there are always vacancies. Give it a go if you think you can give the cover. It's a great job and I left my well paid retail management job to go wholetime...best move I ever made. Sure, I'd be earning more but there's more to life than that!
Oh, and
Would I be competing with scores of 18 year olds who can all do a million pull-ups before breakfast?
Even if you were it'd be unlikely that they'd take the 18 year old on.
For a retained FF they are looking for a mature person in full-time employment and settled in the area.
We've just taken on 3 young 'sprogs' and they're a ****in' nightmare! They give very little availability as they're too busy disappearing away out to mates houses, getting pi$$ed up and they will, in all likelihood move away in a few years and the return the brigade will get for the training costs is poor.
I'll shut up now 😀
Cheers
Paul.
Someone who actually knows what they're talking about? Surely not? Well done barney. Hansrey your dad sounds like a cock...sorry but all that "not like that in my day" BS belongs in the past.
It looks like Scotland will be going to one brigade and the existing brigades will more than likely become 'divisions' but it's thought that the structure will remain similar as it is now. We'll see though...
I've heard about that duty system, that sounds...interesting! 😮
Our fitness tests for entrance haven't changed but our annual assessments have and as you mention they are a damned site tougher than before and *will* lead to older guys getting punted.
Thanks guys, this is all really good info, I hadn't realised how the retained system worked.
I wasn't doing it for the money, my current job pays more than well enough. However, they would likely not tolerate me disappearing all the time.
Definitely going to have a word with the station closest to me (actaully, I have a choice, one within 100m of work, one within 200m of my flat!).
Might dovetail nicely with the current job, could volunteer for reduced hours in an office thats already considering redundancies, and do more hours in a job I'll (hopefully) take a lot more pride and interest in.